Close to 300 children participate in the YMCA's Fort Monroe summer camp as the group's leadership has not-so-quietly sought to build a base of families interested in joining a new branch on the property.

"We're looking for a membership base that would be interested in coming out to Fort Monroe," said Danny Carroll, Peninsula Metropolitan YMCA executive director. "We haven't quite found it yet, but we're looking in that general vicinity."

The key, Carroll said, is finding 300 new families living in the surrounding communities of Phoebus, Buckroe and Grandview interesting in joining the YMCA. The group does not want to bleed-off membership from the existing LaSalle Avenue location by opening a new branch.

"We're truly hoping by the end of summer we can have a marketing plan that we can communicate to those communities," Carroll said. "It would be wonderful to have the building cleaned up and ready to take membership soon, but we haven't firmed up exactly how we're going to do it yet."

The YMCA now uses a brick building where Ruckman Road meets the inner fort's west entrance as a pick-up and drop-off point for summer camp participants and their parents. A large YMCA sign hangs among the building's white columns.

Children are picked up from YMCAs at bus stops in Hampton, Newport News and York County and taken to the decommissioned Army base where they can participate in group activities such as boating, fishing and outdoor exploration.

"Youngsters from across the Peninsula — about 200 to 300 a day — are spending time at Fort Monroe, and we're excited about that," said Fort Monroe Authority Executive Director Glenn Oder during a June 19 Board of Trustees meeting.

The YMCA has signed an agreement with the Fort Monroe Authority keeping the YMCA as the building's primary tenant for at least two years. That agreement was signed 18 months ago, Carroll said.

Fort Monroe officials have said a YMCA branch would marry well with the civilian community being developed on the property.

The Army's Training and Doctrine Command spent more than $11 million to renovate the building in 2002. A part of that work included lead and asbestos abatement to comply with the National Historic Preservation Act.

At the time, Army officials repeatedly described the renovation as being "world class."

The building, constructed between 1902 and 1907, closed as a YMCA in 1992 because the group lacked funds and donations needed to renovate the building. At the time, it was the only YMCA in the nation operating on military property; YMCA officials said the center served 3,000 to 5,000 visitors each month.

Carroll said the renovated building could be programmed for the group's uses.

"It's a beautiful building," he said.

The first floor — or basement — includes a climbing wall, racquetball court, sauna, shower and wellness center. The second floor, accessible through the front entrance, holds a spinning room and check-in area. The third floor could be used for group exercises, Carroll said.

"There's a beautiful walk-out patio that overlooks the water," he said.

How can residents show their interest in the Fort Monroe YMCA?

Carroll said there isn't a venue for residents to directly show support for the branch. YMCA staff is working on a plan to promote the branch. YMCA staff has also solicited signatures from people at public events like the Blackbeard Festival in downtown Hampton and at the Bodacious Bazaar on Fort Monroe.

More information about the Fort Monroe location can be found at http://www.fmauthority.com/ymca-your-feedback-needed.

Brauchle can be contacted at 757-247-2827.

Where did the building come from?

Organized in 1889, the Fort Monroe YMCA was housed in one of the casemates of the old moat wall. In 1902, Helen Miller Gould, daughter of railroad and fur tycoon Jay Gould, donated $60,000 to construct the YMCA building on Fort Monroe.